


Wyrm, Void, and Root

by Schnikeys_Discuss (Schnikeys)



Series: Clockie's Meta [7]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Analysis, Archived from radioactivesupersonic Blog, Character Analysis, Gen, Nonfiction, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27055444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schnikeys/pseuds/Schnikeys_Discuss
Summary: "This hypothetical trio of playable characters led me to think about another meaningful trinity present in the story: the connection of Wyrm, Void, and Root that are allegedly the elements sustaining Hallownest."
Series: Clockie's Meta [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1974223
Kudos: 6





	Wyrm, Void, and Root

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ClockworkRainbow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClockworkRainbow/gifts).



So I read once that in Hollow Knight, Hornet and Zote were originally meant to be playable characters alongside Ghost, and, this immediately intrigued me, thinking about how they’d play and how different their mechanics would be. Zote in particular- Hornet, being another demigod child of the Pale King similar to the Vessels, would logically be another “Higher Being” and able to focus Soul, but Zote at a glance would just seem to be some guy from nowhere, so if he had that ability, it’d raise a great question of what exactly his deal _is_.

This hypothetical trio of playable characters led me to think about _another_ meaningful trinity present in the story: the connection of Wyrm, Void, and Root that are allegedly the elements sustaining Hallownest.

Ghost is a vessel- abyss-born, and while they were created by the power of the Pale King, ultimately their power and their ideal ending all comes back to reuniting with their parent Void. Even taking the King’s Brand and Kingsoul onto themselves, they use one to access the abyss in the first place, and the other is ultimately brought to the Birthplace to become the Void Heart- so crowning themselves, Ghost becomes not another Wyrm, but rather a king of Void. The ultimate forms of Ghost’s spells, their strongest charm- even the massively versatile Shade Cloak ability. Ghost embodies Void, and the height of their power draws from that source.

Hornet, rather, is a much more apt fit for Wyrm. She lacks Ghost’s connection to the void, as not a vessel herself, and Herrah being her mother cuts her off from Hallownest’s Queen, and the connection to Root. The ultimate fight with her at Kingdom’s Edge is an environment bathed in the dominant white associated with the Pale King, she supplements her needle weapon with gleaming white thread possibly created from Soul (as she’s not really a spider herself, despite her connection to Herrah, she presumably does not have spinnerets) and she guards and challenges Ghost for the right to the King’s Brand.

One could argue even that Hornet echoes some of her father’s more admirable actions- the Pale King challenging the Radiance brought sentience to Hallownest in the first place, thus, challenging the established order via mind, which Hornet does, in choosing to tamper with the cycle and assist Ghost by informing them and pointing them back towards their own element, Void, to understand themselves. She is also a person of rigid ideals and a willingness to do what’s necessary, but, in contrast to the Pale King, we see that Hornet has a lot more… empathy, for people in the way of such things, like Ghost.

So where does that leave Zote? The colosseum fight would tell us Zote has less offensive prowess than the average Vengefly- because even they can cost Ghost a mask on contact while Zote won’t even connect unless he’s swinging Life Ender, which is ultimately ineffective.

Except Zote actually _does_ have a good skill- though certainly, it’s something that Hornet and Ghost would overlook.

Zote made his way into Deepnest.

That means he either got past the Mantis Lords or through the Fungal Core, through one of the most dangerous late-game levels, and while he did get stuck down there, provided Ghost bails him out, he finds his way right back out again.

His earliest encounter, in Greenpath, is past the Moss Knights, who are rather tough for that part of the game and all the way into a boss room, and he can also be found in the City of Tears, past the armed, armored, and agile enemies. None of which he’d be able to injure with his attack. And to be captured in the Colosseum, he had to make his way all the way up Kingdom’s Edge- _another_ perilous late-game area.

So… Zote basically has been running the monster-and-hazard-filled annals of Hallownest without the ability to actually defend himself in combat against 9/10ths of the game’s creatures. And the only things you actually have to intervene and save him from are a Vengefly King (a low-tier boss, but still a boss monster) and getting ambushed by something in Deepnest that left him tangled up in webbing.

Zote’s real talent would appear to lie in not attacking, but either defending, evading, or healing. In the Colosseum fight, he loses with no saving grace- but there’s nowhere to run and he’s sealed in with the much more offense-capable Ghost, who he’s not about to flee from in front of an audience that’s already mocking him.

The two charms with overly root-and-Greenpath-related motifs are the Thorns of Agony, and the Shape of Unn. Thorns is a defensive charm that hurts enemies when you take damage yourself, and Shape allows you to move while charging Soul. And the existing patrons of Root that we see are Unn, who hides beyond an acid lake, and the White Lady, who not only hid, but chose to confine herself protectively and sense the world from afar.

While the nature of Void would appear to be unknowable and to a degree unstoppable- determined creatures like the Shadow Crawlers and Vessels whose minds cannot be read by the Dream Nail in its most powerful form- and the nature of Wyrm is a nobility and strength that demands that it is heeded, exemplified by Hornet who carries every inch the commanding presence of royalty regardless of if Hallownest is long vanished to the ages- the nature of Root appears protective, evasive, and enduring in the face of hardship.

One of the tablets in Greenpath claims that its authors draw life from moss and leaf, and “while it grows upon the path, we will never wilt.”

Zote is nothing if not somebody who survives in the face of adversity. That’s his real gift- he’s not radically engaging and shaping the kingdom the way Hornet and Ghost are from the very moment of their marked births. It’s just the fact that, with very, very little assistance, and several massive handicaps, he _endures_. And his whole bitter attitude and a lot of his precepts would tell us that he’s utterly unused to praise, or even people who aren’t actively trying to spite him. This is somebody who has been enduring, for a very long time.

And sure, maybe he’s an unreliable narrator and his parents and whatever lord he may or may not have served in the past were super great people. Somehow, I doubt it. Zote lies, but he lies to make himself seem more glamorous. There’s probably a reason he laps up Bretta’s adoration like a starving man in the desert finding water, and a reason why the game subtly criticizes you for not helping Zote- the achievement for abandoning him phrases itself rather _harshly_ compared to, say, the achievements for clearing the Broken Vessel and Lost Kin fights, or clearing the Grey Mourner’s quest.

So I have to wonder if Zote, hypothetically, would be the hero of Root, rounding out the trio of Hornet’s Wyrm and Ghost’s Void. Especially because logically, Zote as a playable character would have to grow and develop and gain the ability to face down enemies- this is a game very focused on boss fights after all- and Root, while it technically pertains to all manner of plants (and fungi, perhaps?) seems to largely evoke the imagery of trees- which can be grand and formidable, but, always start as tiny humble sprouts.

By focusing on Zote, I don’t mean to suggest Hornet isn’t interesting or compelling- she’s fascinating, and I think the opportunity to play as both of them would be _great_ if they ever added it in as DLC or sequel/companion stories- this game lives through being able to observe small things, and it’d be fascinating to see how Hornet or Zote would describe the same things differently when observing them, vs. Ghost. (Also that you could have actual conversations with NPCs by playing someone who has a voice)

It’s just that Hornet’s interesting qualities are basically a given. She’s like Ghost- a person of auspicious birth tied intimately to the fall of this ancient kingdom and its revival, and while I’d love to hear her story, it’s kind of… of course. She’s this dynamic colorful figure and the story really picks up in earnest once she takes the stage.

But Zote? Zote is sour and rude to the PC and at a glance the revelations of greater depth seem like fake-outs- his promise that he came back to Hallownest for being a promise to himself for personal glory- but frankly even if he’s a jerk, I think there’s something really interesting about him. Not that I want to with zero effort regale him as a Chosen One, but, as a player, the idea of being able to accompany Zote through his own journey, and growth as a person, would be interesting. Especially if I’m right, and he is thematically associated with Root- which unlike Wyrm or Void, is really the only thing that defines itself by _growing_.

* * *

Tags:

[#I have a weird relationship with Zote where like](https://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/tagged/I-have-a-weird-relationship-with-Zote-where-like) [#he's viewed in a very unflattering light](https://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/tagged/he%27s-viewed-in-a-very-unflattering-light) [#and most of those unflattering traits are legitimately right there](https://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/tagged/and-most-of-those-unflattering-traits-are-legitimately-right-there) [#but at the same time he's interesting](https://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/tagged/but-at-the-same-time-he%27s-interesting) [#for the sheer virtue of being this shabby moody guy](https://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/tagged/for-the-sheer-virtue-of-being-this-shabby-moody-guy) [#in a setting where most of your major players are gods or divine children](https://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/tagged/in-a-setting-where-most-of-your-major-players-are-gods-or-divine-children) [#attendants of mystic wisdom](https://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/tagged/attendants-of-mystic-wisdom) [#and then there's just some guy with a wooden sword trying his best](https://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/tagged/and-then-there%27s-just-some-guy-with-a-wooden-sword-trying-his-best) [#and you kinda got to root for him just because of that](https://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/tagged/and-you-kinda-got-to-root-for-him-just-because-of-that) [#reminds me a lot of Susano from Okami](https://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/tagged/reminds-me-a-lot-of-Susano-from-Okami)

**Author's Note:**

> Analysis originally found here: <https://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/post/167017927820/so-i-read-once-that-in-hollow-knight-hornet-and>


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